Tony Fernandes hints at Caterham sale

Caterham owner Tony Fernandes has dropped the biggest hint yet that he may be set to sell his F1 team.

Over the past few months, speculation about an impending sale has been rife despite Fernandes insisting time and time again that he was not looking to shut up shop. A story in the Malaysian media suggested that he was looking for a figure close to £350m for the team and the Caterham cars company.

However, the Malaysian businessman took the decision to close his Twitter account yesterday, and signed off saying: “F1 hasn’t worked but love Caterham cars” – the biggest hint yet that he will indeed sell the team.

“Goodbye all,” read his earlier tweets. “Maybe I return. Been fun. And damn useful. Speak the truth be brave. Dare to dream, believe the unbelievable and never take no for an answer. Stand up for what you believe, fight oppression and most important enjoy life.”

Fernandes has numerous business interests going beyond the Formula 1 team. He also owns Caterham Racing GP2 team, the Caterham Moto Racing team in Moto 2, Queens Park Rangers football club and the successful AirAsia airline company.

For the time being, a possible buyer is yet to emerge, but it is thought that a number of investors are interested in taking it off Fernandes’ hands. If he were to sell, it is feasible to see him keep his other motorsport interests going aside from the F1 team.

Luke Smith is the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Richland F1. Having started the website in March 2012, he has gone on to become one of the youngest members of the Formula 1 paddock after joining American broadcaster NBC Sports at the beginning of the 2013 season. Luke now works as the network's lead F1 writer, supporting the TV coverage on nbcsports.com.
Luke's work has also been featured on NBC News, Yahoo! Sports, The Times, The Independent and Forbes, and he has also appeared on CNBC's TV series "One Second in F1 Racing".